No space brings more comfort

than the few inches between

a cat’s ears or the scruff below

their trembling chins 

when you question

a decision you just made.

The same might be said 

for a dog’s head in your lap

at the end of a long day

but most especially after short ones.

Is it selfish to sink into their lives

and relish whether our decisions

would matter to them?

That measure holds true

no matter the century

nor current season of disrepair,

and short of asking the creatures nearest you,

you might have to just hope

we provide the same comforts

they need right now, too.